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With strict orders for an 8:10 am meeting-up with our Driftwood Tour group at the Grand Canal Hotel, we set our Tuesday morning alarm for 6 a.m. The Academy Plaza staff was kind enough to accommodate my request to leave a suitcase intended for Croatia in their manager’s office for the duration of our tour. Another remarkably friendly and chatty taxi driver sped us through Dublin commuter traffic. He pointed out the building across from the Grand Canal Hotel that had once been a bustling slaughterhouse employing over 1,000 Dubliners, but was closed down some 20 years ago.

We easily found Ciara, our lovely, patient, and efficient guide, in the lobby of the hotel; she checked us in and quickly loaded up the luggage in our 16-seater tour bus. There are 15 travelers on our tour, remarkably with 3 nurses (2 from Australia and me), and 5 Los Angeles County retirees (Mike and two other couples). There is also a dentist, teacher, engineer, and others I’m forgetting. Most of the folks are retired.

8:10 a.m. on the dot we headed away from the meet-up hotel and joined the Dublin morning traffic. Vagabond’s 11-day Driftwood tours go either clockwise or counter-clockwise around Ireland. We learned as we pulled away that we would be going clockwise, and our first destination would be the Rock of Cashel in County Cork.

The story goes that the Rock of Cashel originated in a mountain 20 miles north of the town of Cashel when St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave. Some explosion in the cave caused a giant rock to blow out and land on a hilltop in Cashel. A cathedral was built, now in ruins, but, interesting to us, the cathedral’s cemetery continues to be used. Some of the headstones listed people who died as recently as 2016.

After Cashel, we continued southerly to Blarney, familiar to most for the Blarney Stone. Our group was able to speed past the line-up at the entrance to the Blarney Castle and grounds. The grounds are lovely, with beautiful formal gardens, a gorgeous home, and the castle remains. The queue to climb the stairs and kiss the Blarney stone was an hour long. Ciara asked who wanted to kiss the stone – I raised my hand, of course. Couldn’t believe that only I and one other group member, Chris from Australia, wanted to do it. I mean, geez, when would I ever be in Blarney again?!?! So, Chris and I stood in line, chatted the time away as we climbed the spiral stairs, and took each other’s photos as a burly Irishman prevented us from falling down to our deaths as we kissed the stone upside down. I had to buy the 10euro commemorative photo.

Back in the bus, we drove another hour into County Cork, passed through the city of Cork and onto the outside of town where we came to our first night’s accommodation. The Gouganne Barra Hotel is situated on a stunning site in a valley surrounded by mountains and with the Gouganne lake in front. In the 6th century St. Finbarr founded a monastery on an island in the lake. We had a great dinner in the hotel and a good night’s sleep, still a bit off schedule, but getting there.

Monday was a day of flawless travel plan execution. We used the small, family-owned Gig Harbor Taxi service for the first time. Our driver, who owns the service with her daughter, was great, showed up at 8:30am as requested and dropped us at the Inn at Gig Harbor where we caught the Kitsap Airporter to Seatac airport and parked ourselves in an airport lounge 4 hours early. United checked in our bags all the way through to Dublin in spite of the airline change in San Francisco. United service was typically pedestrian, but they got us into SFO safely and on time.

Aer Lingus was terrific. I felt especially lucky to be flying in a plane with a shamrock on its tail. Air Lingus really takes their Irishness to heart – all the seats are upholstered in bright green, they serve entrees like shepherd’s pie for dinner, and I’d never seen so many redheads on a flight in my life., flight attendants included. I slept for about 6 hours of the 9 hour flight; Mike, less than that, but I caught him snoozing now and then.

The Dublin airport was easy to navigate. Our bags arrived quickly and intact, and there was no customs inspection on the way out. The taxi queue wasn’t too long. Our friendly driver regaled us with stories of the success of his recent knee replacement and the love the Irish have for Americans.

By 1pm we presented ourselves to the reception desk of the Academy Plaza Hotel on the north side of the River Liffey, the major river that runs through the center of Dublin. Our room was ready.

I know I was jetlagged, but I swear to God and all that is good, I saw a bus advertising “Angela’s Ashes, the Musical.” We clearly had arrived in Ireland.

Though my goal to quickly overcome the 8 hour time difference was to stay awake until 9pm local time, I couldn’t do it. We set our alarms for 5pm and napped for 4 hours. We scouted out dinner, walked a half block down to bustling O’Connell Street and were drawn to the restaurant of the Gresham Hotel. After a series of delays and order mix-ups, we realized our waiter had a “trainee” label on his name tag, and so forgave the hiccoughs – we were hungry and ate whatever was put in front of us

I had a great view during dinner, large windows looking out at the busy intersection of O’Connell and Cathal Bruga streets. The ebb and flow between determined pedestrians and a constant parade of double-decker buses seemed choreographed.

Nothing I love more than checking in for a flight to Europe. We’re packed, boarding passes printed, coffee pot set up to be ready by 6am.

Mike and I are off on a 3 week adventure – a two week tour of Ireland followed by a week in Croatia with family. Mike has been so indulgent in supporting my search for my Croatian family, we thought it was high time to discover the country of some of his ancestors (there is a strong “Kelly” line on his father’s maternal side.

We’re taking a small group tour offered by Vagabond/Driftwood Ireland Tours. Here is the link to their web site, if you’re interested in following along. The Vagabond tour version is very active, riding bikes, climbing mountains. We opted for the Driftwood lighter-activity version and are taking the 11-day Discover Ireland Tour, with stays in Dublin, 1 day in the beginning, 2 days at the end.

Following our trip to Ireland we will fly from Dublin to Zagreb and meet up the our Croatian relatives. A day in Zagreb at the beginning and end of the week, with the rest of the time in Kajgana and Garesniča. This trip to Croatia is much shorter than usual, and we picked what is likely the hottest time of the year, but it seemed foolish to be so close and not drop down to visit our family.

If you’d like to be notified of new postings on the blog, and you didn’t already do this before, see the little blurb on the right titled “SIGN UP FOR EMAIL NOTICES.” You enter your email address then click “subscribe.” You might get one email from “A Habitable Realm” asking you to confirm that you signed up, but subsequently, you’ll get an email every time I post a story or photos.

The last few days of our Danube River cruise were great, but for now I’m fast-forwarding on to Croatia and fully intend to eventually fill in the blanks regarding Austria and Hungary. As river cruise-lines go, Viking Cruises is as good as any, but one can only take so much queuing for buffet meals before the thought of launching out on your own starts looking mighty attractive.

My thought in planning the third segment of our European adventure was to transition with a romantic train ride through bucolic countryside between Budapest and Zagreb, and on Sunday the 21st we planted ourselves in our reserved window seats with the confidence and pride of seasoned travelers.

Budapest Zeleti train station with porter

Helpful porter

Budapest train station monitor

Spy #1

Spy #2

The confidence and pride lasted for an hour after departure until our non-stop train stopped at a remote station labeled “Sarobogard.” Our portly conductor waving all the passengers off the train across rough tracks and onto waiting buses followed a static-y overhead Hungarian announcements. We had absolutely no clue what was going on and no one to ask. There was great competition by the more agile among us to load their bags into luggage compartments and grab the prime bus seats. One of the bus drivers saw us struggling, took our bags and motioned us on to his bus. We rode along in our seats made even more cramped by our smaller luggage as I followed our progress on my iPhone, posting slightly frantic updates to my Facebook account without regard to the global data charges I was incurring. We shared a hope that we’d just keep heading in the southwesterly direction towards Croatia. At just over two hours, we stopped at a station labeled “Kaposvar” and reversed the process, back onto the train and into our 1st class reserved seats. This time we were joined by some lively English 20-year-olds who kept us entertained with a variety of trivia and riddle games. In the last hour I glanced at my ticket and noticed “Autobusz: Sarobogard – Kaposvar” – uh……

Passing Hungarian town

We finally pulled into Zagreb train station an hour late and immediately spotted the smiling faces of our family – Domagoj and his girlfriend, Ivana – waiting for us on the platform. We knew we were now in good hands.

Zagreb Train station

Sunday June 21, being the first day of summer, is also World Day of Music, and as we exited the Zagreb train station a concert was underway at the Zrinjevac Park. We waited for the #2 tram that brought us directly to the Hilton Doubletree Zagreb at the city’s edge. We checked in, had a late dinner, and fell immediately into deep and relieved sleep.

[Sorry for the delay – I finally have some dependable wifi. The wifi on the river ship is by satellite and we have travelled through some narrow gorges.]

Between Nuremberg, Germany, and Vienna, Austria, the Danube River courses past towns and villages whose character seems frozen in time, at least from the vantage point of a river cruise ship. Our tour stopped at three of them, Regensburg and Passau, Germany, and Melk, Austria.

Regensburg, our first stop, apparently one of Germany’s best-preserved medieval cities highlights the Gothic St. Peter’s Church, Old Town Hall and the 12th-century Old Stone Bridge as Germany’s oldest bridge. It is also claims to be home to the oldest sausage kitchen, located near the bridge. I don’t know if we were just hungry or if they truly are the best sausages I’ve ever eaten, but I do know that we were pleasantly surprised at how good were the sausages on sauerkraut served with crusty rolls – that the dark beer, even to this non-regular-beer-drinker, was absolutely fantastic – thirst quenching and flavorful.

Passau, Germany, is a beautiful historic city at the confluence of three rivers – the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz – and thus susceptible to flooding. High water marks are kept on buildings throughout town, and the mark for the flood of 2013 was only exceeded by that for 1501. Rather amazing that 500+ years later they just keep rebuilding and carrying on. Cobblestone streets and historic building are carefully restored; our guide explained that, two years after the 2013 flood they still have difficulty finding enough skilled craftsman to complete the restoration today.

A guided tour barely scratches the surface of the patina of these towns. After our visit I happened upon a CNN story about Passau being used as drop-off point by refugees from the Middle East wars. I would so have liked to learn more – why Passau, why this quaint little town? Were we passing refugee ships in the night as we cruised down the Wachau valley? What are their stories, and how can we help?

Passau cathedral

Passau shopping

Passau shopping street

Passau rivers confluence

Passau high water marks

Passau cruise ship

In the night we cruised into Austria and docked at Melk. A Jesuit Abbey dominates Melk, Austria, and during our tour I caught sight of one of the brothers skirting the edge of the courtyard, skillfully avoiding the tour groups on his way. The Abbey contains a middle-high school that is growing in student population and currently has 900 day students – tuition is only 80 euros a month! They no longer board students in order to have more classrooms for the burgeoning student population drawn from the local towns.

The cruise ship passed through the beautiful Wachau Valley in the late evening – at this time of year it stays light past 9pm. One of the most peaceful times aboard the cruise ship is standing on the top deck during a warm evening, alone at a rail, wondering about the lives of those we are passing.

[NOTE: Still having problems being able to upload photos – the river ship uses satellite for internet, so i will upload the photos related to the story below as soon as I can]

We left France behind with a quick one-hour flight from Paris to Nuremberg, Germany, and even on this short trip we were served food in the Air France tradition – roll with goat cheese, fennel and honey – so unlike American flights where an ounce-pack of dry mini pretzels during a 5 hour coast-to-coast trip is an unexpected treat. Have you ever landed at San Francisco International airport, where you seem to be skimming the top of the Bay, certain you’re landing in the water, and at the very last second the wheels touching down on the edge of the tarmac? In Nuremberg you skim the top of what I believe is the Black Forest – a huge, flat dense forest – wheels just above the treetops, seeming close enough to touch, and then you land in a sudden edge of airport tarmac.

We slapped the Viking Cruise stickers on our shirts and deplaned to be welcomed immediately by a Viking Cruise line representative. The luxury segment of our trip had begun! No more car rental negotiations or GPS or schlepping suitcases up several flights of stairs. Our bags were whisked away by a uniformed Viking Cruise representative, and in short order we were aboard the Viking Var, room 107. We’re travelling from Nuremberg, Germany, to Budapest, Hungary over an 8-day period, with no concerns in the world regarding where we will eat or sleep or tour or shop. I had originally thought we might drive from Paris through Germany, Austria and Hungary on our way to Croatia, but when I started working out the logistics of renting a car in one country and leaving it in another, that plan began to unwind. Thanks to a well-placed ad during an episode of Downton Abbey on PBS, Viking solved all our logistical problems with their “Romantic Danube” trip. I’ve uploaded here the detailed description of the 8 day trip so you can follow along. The cruise consists of meals and evening activities aboard on of their river long-ships – ours is the “Var” named after some Nordic god – with both included and optional excursions in the towns we visit. Each evening is a briefing on the next days activities and sometimes a presentation on local culture, the Danube history, or the Viking Cruise company itself. Last night I learned that Viking is privately owned and based, interestingly, in Los Angeles with an office in Basel, Switzerland. It is owned by the Hagen family whose daughter is the face and voice of the ads. Of course she’s a gorgeous Nordic blonde. There is no justice.

Our day trip to Nuremberg was fascinating and educational. Nuremberg is known by most for the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals after WWII, but it’s a vital city otherwise. The most chilling part of our day excursion was a tour of the Nazi parade grounds. We’ve all seen familiar pictures of Hitler standing at the very podium which today is used for rock concerts and sports events and car rallies, one of which was happening the day we were there.

Nuremberg Nazi Parade 1903s

I found most interesting the way today’s Germans describe that awful period in their history. I found a sign that described 1933 as when “the seizure of power by the NSDAP (predecessor of Nazis) marked the beginning of oppression and destruction of political freedom and economic self-government.” A great reminder that most people living under dictatorship just want to live good lives and take care of their families.

Nuremberg is now a vibrant, creative and productive city. After our tour of the former Nazi parade grounds we toured the heart of the city, so much needed rebuilding after the war. Churches and open air markets, outdoor art and restaurants, and scenes that could not have existed during Hitler’s time – these cute little girls, clearly best friends, one black, one white, just walking along having a chat.

Back on the ship, we took off for the next stop, Passau, Germany. One of the many treats of taking a river cruise is watching the ship navigate the river – and during this trip we go through 12 locks – I believe it’s 7 locks up and 5 locks down. During one of the “up” locks we were able to sit on the forward deck as the ship entered the lock enclosed in 10 story high walls, then watch as it rapidly filled with water before we floated out the front. Here are a few pictures of that experience.

[NOTE: Due to very slow Internet access I’m unable to upload the pictures and videos mentioned below, but will do so as soon as the wifi improves]

We might have met our goal of touring the D-Day landing beaches by taking a day-trip from Paris as did the other guests on our afternoon tour. Thank goodness we did not. We instead chose to drive nearly 2 ½ hours along a northerly route of lush green and fertile farmland from Giverny to Bayeux for an overnight stay. So much of France outside Paris is farmland. I hadn’t realized. The A15 highway from Giverny cuts through fields and farms and farms and fields. Did I mention farms? I suspect France could serve as breadbasket to most of Europe with the amount of farming they do. Seems so distant from all the France I’ve known being Paris.

Fortunately I had timed things correctly and we were able to check in to our Bayeux hotel and drop our bags before our 1pm pickup four our Viator tour pickup. We were a small group of 8 led by a our charming guide who introduced herself as “Mag.” She was surprised that I asked if that was short for “Magail” – it was – because it’s such a uniquely French name. I told her my son has a good friend named Magali. Throughout the afternoon as she took us to Omaha Beach, the visitors center and the American cemetery, explaining the roles of both the liberating soldiers and that of the French villagers and farmers involved in the action, Mag made frequent references to her grandparents who lived through the experience. Coincidentally the anniversary of D-Day was the Sunday before our visit; the week turns out to be the busiest of the year, and stragglers of the “re-enactors” who show up each year to recognize the date were spotted throughout the day. An unexpected complement to our experience was the weather – cold and extremely windy. We were buffeted by strong and erratic winds as Mag described the rough seas, which caused a 24-hour delay in the D-Day operation. We watched the English Channel roil with high waves, our faces buffeted by cold wind, and felt quite vicerally a bit of the experience of D-Day. I’m hopeful that this video I took from inside a former German bunker records the waves and wind I attempted to capture.

The following day we drove to the lovely town of Les Andelys, dominated by the crumbling castle of Edward the Lionheart. Our hotel, L’Chaine d’Or, sits right on the bank of the Seine, and we had a river view. Attached are a few snapshots outside our window. The lack of air conditioning was a bit uncomfortable on an unusually hot and humid evening, but the view of the northern Seine with its fishermen and birds, and a spectacular electrical storm, made up for it all.

During dinner at L’Chaine d’Or a friendly gentleman in dapper pink pants came to our table and introduced himself to us. He asked we were enjoying our time in Les Andelys, if we were staying in this hotel, and said he was in charge of tourism for the town. Mike asked if he were the mayor – vice mayor, he replied, in charge of all tourism. He said L’Chaine is the best restaurant in town and hoped we would return. He then pointed to the table behind us, 6 or 7 men deeply engaged in debate – I caught that one felt “we need a majority vote,” and suspected them to be the town council.

Our drive from Les Andelys to Charles de Gaulle airport took us again through many back roads and farms. It’s just a 45 minute drive, but the contrast between the country and sudden city could not be greater. With a bit of confusion we finally found the rental car return, cleared the check-in and headed into the next leg of our trip.